Lucretia Gyllenhielm

Lucretia Johansdotter Gyllenhielm (1561–1585), was the illegitimate daughter of John III of Sweden and Karin Hansdotter. She was reportedly the favorite of her father.^[1]

Lucretia Gyllenhielm and her siblings were ennobled and granted the surname Gyllenhielm in 1577, though she and her sister often used only their patronymic.^{[2] [3]}

Lucretia was the favorite of her father. She was betrothed to the nobleman Karl Gustafsson Stenbock. ^[4] When she died unmarried in 1585 at the age of 24, her father the king became distraught and issued an investigation if she had died as the result of witchcraft.^[5] Karl Gustafsson Stenbock accused the noblewoman Kerstin Gabrielsdotter Ulfsax, wife of Joen Nilsson (1536-1600). She was rumored to have murdered her late spouse and of having bewitched Lucretia.^[6][7] Ulfsax was arrested, and after having failed to collect twelve female nobles as character witnesses, she was executed.^[8]

• Ericson Wolke, Lars, Johan III: en biografi, Historiska media, Lund, 2004
• Larsson, Lars-Olof, Arvet efter Gustav Vasa: berättelsen om fyra kungar och ett rike, Prisma, Stockholm, 2005
• Gyllenhjelm, Lucretia i Wilhelmina Stålberg, Anteckningar om svenska qvinnor (1864)
• Karl Ix:s rimkrönika (KB)
• Palmskiöldska samlingen i Uppsala